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into sin!Glory to Thee, Who didst descend to save our soul! Glory to Thee, Who didst take flesh inthe womb of the Virgin! Glory to Thee, Who didst suffer bondage! Glory to Thee, Who didstaccept scourging! Glory to Thee, Who was made an object of humiliation! Glory to Thee,Who wast crucified! Glory to Thee, Who was buried!Glory to Thee, Who didst rise from the dead! Glory to Thee, of Whom the prophets spoke!Glory to Thee, in Whom we have believed! Glory to Thee, Who didst ascend into heaven!Glory to Thee, Who didst sit with glory at the right hand of the Father and Who art comingagain with hosts of angels to judge every soul that has scorned Thy holy passion!In that anxious and dreadful hour when the heavenly powers are roused, when all the angels,archangels, seraphim and cherubim will stand with fear and trembling before Thy glory, whenthe foundations of the the earth will be shaken, and when all that breathes will be terrified bythe incomparable greatness of Thy Glory--in that hour mayest Thou take me under Thywing and may my soul be delivered from the terrible fire and from the gnashing of teeth,from outer darkness and eternal lamentation, that I may bless Thee and say: Glory to HimWho has desired to save a sinner according to the great compassion of His mercy!3Make me whole, O Lord, and I will become whole! O only wise and merciful Physician, Ibeseech Thy benevolence: heal the wounds of my soul and enlighten the eyes of my mindthat I may understand my place in Thine eternal design! And in as much as my heart andmind have been disfigured, may Thy grace repair them, for it is as true salt.What shall I say to Thee, O Knower of the heart who searchest the heart and the innerworkings of men? Indeed, Thou knowest that, like a waterless land, my soul thirsts after Theeand my heart longs for Thee. And Thy grace has always saved those that love Thee.Thus, as Thou hast always heard me, so now do not scorn my prayer. For Thou seest that mymind, like a prisoner, seeks Thee, the Only true Savior.Send Thy grace, that it may satisfy my hunger and quench my thirst. For insatiably do I desireThee, O my Master! And who can have enough of Thee if he truly loves Thee and thirsts forThy truth?O Giver of light! Fulfill my supplications and grant me Thy gifts according to my prayer;impart to my heart just one drop of Thy grace, that the flame of Thy love may begin to burnin my heart; and, like a fire, may it consume evil thoughts like thorns and thistles!

Give me all this in abundance; grant it to me as God unto man, as the King to His subjects,and increase it as a kind Father.4We search for Thee in prayer, O Lord, for all is comprehended in Thee. May we be enrichedby Thee, for Thou art wealth which diminishes not with the changes of time.May Thy loving-kindness come to our aid! May Thy grace defend us! From Thy treasurypour out upon us restoration to heal our sores.We must seek Thee above all else, and not seek anything else but Thee, for he who seeks Theefinds all in Thee.In Thee is wealth for the needy, heartfelt joy for the sorrowing, restoration for all thewounded, consolation for all who mourn.Accept our prayer, O our Lord, and grant us Thyself. May we live in Thee, may we possessThee instead of all else, for then all is ours.Grant, O Lord, that we may be Thine. And according to Thy loving-kindness be Thou ours:for the righteous Father gave us Thee for the healing of our sores.Thou art ours according to the will of Thy Father; and Thou art ours according to Thine owndesire. Thou art with us, O Emmanuel! Thou art with us, as our Lord.Accept these prayers from us, O our God, Who hast descended to us. Accept the tears ofsinners and show mercy to the guilty.According to Thy desire Thou hast been united with us; be the intercessor of our prayer.Raise it up to Thy Father and establish peace in our souls.5Like the apple of Thine eye preserve me, O Lord god; defend me and beneath Thy wingsshelter me from temptations.Be the guardian of the eye, that it might not look about in the manner of a thief; be theguardian of the ear, that it might not perceive falsehood.Be the guardian of the lips, that slander, judgement, criticism and idle words might not come

forth from them.Be the guardian of the heart, that it might not be inclined to evil and might not workiniquity.Grant us, O Lord, knowledge, both of what we should do and of how to set about it.Grant us, O our Lord, that we may be sweeter to Thee than fragrances and perfumes.Grant us, O our Lord, that we may love Thee and hate the world. Grant us, O Lord, to acquireOnly Three rather than all transient possessions. Grant us, O our Lord, to bring Three threechoice gifts. Grant us, O our Lord, to burn three aromatic censers before Thee.Grant us, O our Lord, to light for Thee three brightly burning lamps: the spirit, the soul andthe body, these three gifts for the One Trinity.Let us dedicate the spirit to the Father, the soul to the Son and the body to the Holy Spirit,the Spirit which will raise it again from dust.O Father, consecrate our spirit to Thyself! O so, consecrate our soul to thyself! O Holy Spirit,consecrate to Thyself our body which is afflicted by sores.Grant us, O our Lord, to rejoice in Thee, and mayest thou rejoice in us in the last day. ToThee is praise, from the spirit, soul and body. And unto us be Thy mercies.6The son of Jesse tunes his pipe and sings: blessed are the blameless who follow in the way ofthe Lord, who walk in His Law. And our Savior said in the Gospel of life: blessed are the pureof heart, for they shall see God; blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted;blessed are they who weep, for they shall rejoice.To those who renounce the world and its vain things, who scorn its lusts and abhor itscomforts, is given a promise of recompense in the Gospel of salvation--an everlastinghabitation and eternal life.Out of love for their Lord they have left their families in this world, their parents, their wealthand their possessions; for they heard that blessed are the poor in spirit. And in return for thisthe heavenly kingdom awaits them.They have made their bodies into a temple of the Holy Spirit; by their strict way of life they

have overcome lusts, they have borne the yoke of strenuous labor; out of love for their Lordthey have despised their own life.They have crucified their souls and nailed their bodies to the cross, and by their ascetic laborshave they moved their Creator to mercy.They have disdained the desires of the flesh and loved restraint. They have driven away thecorruptions of the flesh and loved chastity.They have chosen for themselves affliction and all manner of privation and have despised rest.They have shed pride and clothed themselves in humility.They have conquered the enemy and triumphed over him. They have put him to flight andacquired glory for themselves. They have conquered him and they are magnified. They havescorned him and they are crowned.The Father loves them, and with love the Son embraces them, and the Holy Spirit abides intheir pure bodies.Christ calls to them, saying: come, ye who labored in My name, enter the habitation, fromwhence those who are called do not go out.On such as these does the Lord bestow crowns, and they taste bliss in His habitations in placeof the sorrows which they bore with Him from morning til night.The heavenly kingdom awaits those who have gained victory in warfare and have thusacquired glory.It is habitual for the angels to descend and fortify warriors during battle.The spirits rush to meet the victors. They call them blessed and say: come, ye who aretroubled, and rest from your labors: by your patience in suffering have ye conquered the evilone.Paradise opens its gates to them; they abide in dwellings of light and there they find repose.In their mouth is a song of glory and praise to Him Who strengthened them in battle.7Thou, O Christ our Savior, hast become for me the path of life which leads to the Father.

There is but one path, and it is my joy, and at the end of it is the heavenly kingdom.Thou, O Master, Jesus, Son of God, hast become for me the path of life and enlightenment.In the heart of Thy servant Thy grace has become light and joy, which are sweeter than thehoney of the honeycomb to the lips of Thy slave.In the soul of Thy servant Thy grace has become a treasure, which has made his poverty richand driven away misery and corruption.For Thy servant Thy grace has become a refuge, strength, a defense, ennoblement, praise, andfood for the whole of his life.How can Thy servant be silent, O Master, after having tasted the great sweetness of Thy loveand grace? How could I dare once again to obstruct the waves of grace which pour forth intothe heart of me, a sinner, and which are replete with sweetness according to the multitude ofThy gifts?I shall sing of the glory of the Master of heavenly powers and shall magnify Thy grace, OChrist our Savior, and my tongue shall not cease to chant of Thy love.Thy love draws me to Thee, O Savior, O praise of my life.Thy grace makes it sweet for me to follow Thee with my mind.May my heart be as a fertile field for Thee, and may Thy grace sprinkle the dew of eternal lifeupon it.May Thy grace reap a good harvest on the field of my heart: humility, reverence, sanctity, andall that is ever pleasing to Thee.Return my soul to the sweet garden of paradise, and may it abide in light that, surrounded bythe delights of paradise, I too may say with all the saints: glory to the Immortal Father; honorto Him Who presents heavenly gifts to this worthless one, that he may bring a tithe of gloryto the King of all.8Mourn over my nakedness, O my beloved brothers! I have angered Christ with my wantonlife. For the Good One created me and gave me freedom, but I have abused it and repaid Himwith evil, with my lawless deeds.

The Lord of all made me perfect and established me as an instrument of His glory, that Imight serve Him and glorify His name; but I, wretch that I am, have made my members intoinstruments of sin and have used them to work all manner of deceit. Woe is me, for He willjudge me justly.My shameless deeds presage my fate at the judgement, for they will indict my poor soul.Unrelentingly I beg Thee, O my Savior: shelter me under Thy wings and do not expose mydefilement at Thy great judgement, that I might glorify Thy kindness.All manner of evil deeds which I have done before the Lord of all exclude me fromcommunion with the saints. And because I have not served God with my life as they have, Ihave no share in their good deeds. Alas, I have perished!Now the grief that I deserve overtakes me. For if I had struggled along with them, then, likethey, I would be glorified. But because I was negligent and served the passions, I do notbelong to the hosts of victors, but have become an heir of gehenna.to Thee, O Victor pierced by nails on the cross Who calleth out to sinners saying: come,receive forgiveness freely--to Thee I unrelentingly pray, O my Savior: turn thine eyes awayfrom my lawlessness, and by Thy sufferings heal my sores that I may glorify Thy kindness.O All-good One, Whose kindness is immeasurably greater than the deceit of the world,strengthen my miserable soul with hope in Thy kindness, for it has been weakened andbecome exhausted to the extreme by the crushing infirmities of deceit and sin, and it holdson only by relying on Thee, for it hopes to find comfort in Thee!9Like the publican I sigh, like the harlot I shed tears, like the thief I call out, like the prodigalson I entreat Thee. O Christ my Savior and Lover of mankind, strengthen my soul which hasgrown faint, which has been paralyzed with the intoxication of delights; heal its scabs andwash it, blackened with sin, with Thine honorable blood!According to the multitude of Thy loving kindness, convert me, o only Long-suffering One,and deliver me from all sensual indulgence. Extinguish the furnace of my passions, so thatthey will not burn me up in the end.Woe is me! Thou, O Lord, hast given me the light of knowledge, and I have clouded it. Woeis me! Constantly hast Thou visited Thy grace upon me and yet dost Thou visit it upon me,but hourly have I rejected this gift for my healing and yet do I reject it.

What a great multitude of gifts hast Thou bestowed upon me and yet dost Thou bestowthem upon me, a sinner, O Master; but I who am wretched have always been and continue tobe consciously ungrateful before Thee!Thy grace comforts me, enlightens me and strengthens me, but I in my negligence turn myattention to vain things and I always sink once again into the bile and bitterness of mypassions.Thou, O All-good One, remindest me of death and of eternal torments and drawest metoward life in order to save me, but I ever shun these saving thoughts. I drive them out andoccupy myself with that which is of no benefit to me. Thus have I no justification beforeThee.I knock at the door of Thy loving-kindness, O Lord, that it may be opened to me. I do notcease to pray that I may receive what I request, and unwavering I seek pardon.Be ever patient with me, depraved as I am; deliver me from the sins which possess me that,having become whole, I may arise from the deathbed of corrupting sin.Free me from my wanton habits before the end overtakes me, for who will confess Thee inhell?Make white my garment before the terrible command catches me unprepared and ashamed.Deliver my contrite soul from the mouths of the lions and save it according to Thy grace andmercy, by the prayers of our All-pure Lady the Theotokos and of all the saints.10Before thy glory, O Christ my Savior, I will announce all my misconduct and confess theinfinitude of Thy mercies, which Thou pourest out upon me according to Thy kindness.From my mother's womb I began to grieve Thee, and utterly have I disregarded Thy grace,for I have neglected my soul. Thou, O my Master, according to the multitude of thy mercies,hast regarded all my wickedness with patience and kindness. Thy grace has lifted up my head,but daily it is brought low by my sins.Bad habits entangle me like snares, and I rejoice at being thus bound. I sink to the very depthsof evil, and this delights me. Daily the enemy gives me new shackles, for he sees how this

variety of bonds pleases me.The fact that I am bound by my own desires should provoke weeping and lamentation,shame and disgrace. And yet more terrible is the fact that I bind myself with the shackles thatthe enemy places upon me, and I slay myself with the passions that give him pleasure.Although I know how dreadful these shackles are, i hide them behind a noble appearancefrom all who might see. I appear to be robed in the beautiful clothes of reverence, but mysouls is entangled with shameful thoughts. Before all who might see, I am reverent, but insideI am filled with all manner of indecency.My conscience accuses me of all this, and I act as if I wish to be freed of my shackles. Everyday I worry and sigh over this, yet I ever remain bound by the same snares. How pitiful I am;and how pitiful is my daily repentance, of it has no firm foundation. Every day I lay afoundation for the building, and again with my own hands I demolish it.My repentance has not even made a good beginning as yet; yet there is no end to my wickednegligence. I have become a slave to passions and to the evil will of the enemy who destroysme.Who will give the water to my head, and the founts to my eyes for tears, so that I may everweep before Thee, O merciful God, that thou mightest send Thy grace and draw me, a sinner,out of the sea, furious with the waves of sin, that hourly convulses my soul? For my desiresare worse than wounds that cannot be bandaged.I wait hoping for repentance and deceive myself with this vain promise until my death. Everdo I say, "I will repent," but never do I repent. My words give the appearance of heartfeltrepentance, but in deed I am always far from repentance.What will happen to me in the day of the trial, when God unveils all things at His court!Certainly I shall be sentenced to torment, if here I have not moved Thee to mercy, O myJudge, by my tears.I hope on Thy mercies, O Lord; I fall at Thy feet and beseech Thee: Grant me the spirit ofrepentance and lead my soul out of the dungeon of iniquity! May a ray of light shine in mymind before I go to the terrible judgement which awaits me, where there is no opportunityto repent of one's wicked deeds.11

No one can heal my disease except He Who knows the depths of the heart.How many times have I set boundaries for myself and built walls between myself and sin! Butmy thoughts transgressed the boundaries and my will tore down the walls, for the boundarieswere not secured by fear of God, and the walls were not founded on sincere repentance.And again I knock at the door, that it may open for me. I do not cease to ask that I mayreceive what I request; and I know no shame in seeking Thy mercy, O Lord.O Lord, my Savior! Why hast thou forsaken me? Have mercy on me, O only Lover ofmankind. Save me, a sinner, Thou only Sinless One.Wrench me from the mire of my iniquities, that I may not be forever sullied by them. Deliverme from the jaws of the enemy, who roars as a lion and desires to swallow me up.Rouse thy strength and come, that thou mightest save me. Beam Thy lightning and dispersehis power, that he may be struck with fear and flee from Thy face, for he has not the strengthto stand before Thee and before the face of those who love Thee. As soon as he perceives asign of Thy grace, he is taken with fear of Thee and withdraws from such with shame.And now, O Master, save me, for I flee to Thee!12Will it take thee long to repent, O my poor soul? The judgement is at hand, the fire is madeready for thy members.All the days of my life have I wallowed in the sea of evil, and I did not lament my sins. Andall at once death will place its shackles upon me.Satan has seduced me and, having bound me with my own desires, he has taken me intocaptivity and ruthlessly cast me to the ground. Alas, what shall I do now?Do Thou, O righteous Judge, disgrace the evil one who wars against me and who secretly setsout his cunning snares for me when I wish to repent.Be my helper, O most merciful Lord, and I will rise up and mock him, I will tear apart all hissnares. Woe is me in that day when Thou, O Lord, wilt judge sinners! O, may I not then be

ashamed before the hosts of angels!Be anxious and tremble, O my soul. Pray to thy Lord and say to Him: have mercy on me, Omy Savior, and rescue me, for I have wallowed in vice. I am like the harlot and am ashamed topray to Thee. Save me by Thy grace, O Lord, from gehenna.The day of the Lord will suddenly shine forth for all creation, and the righteous will come outto meet the Lord with burning lamps; but I am in darkness; there is no oil in my lamp, that Imight meet the Bridegroom when He comes.My spirit trembles when it hears that the day of judgement is at hand; my thoughts becomeagitated when I consider the fire that awaits the lawless. According to Thy kindness which ismerciful to sinners, have mercy on me who have perished--and I will sing Thy praises whenThy kingdom comes.May Thy cross accompany me during that dreaded crossing, may it drive the powers ofdarkness away from me; may it be for me the key that opens the gates of paradise, that I mayenter into bliss, rejoice and glorify Thy compassion, O most merciful One!13Grant us Thy help, O All-good One, and never abandon our race! Vouchsafe us thine allsearching wisdom, that we may know the transience of all things. Heal our sores withrepentance.Visit us, that we might not persist in our sins. Thou Who art

Blessed is he who has in the Lord become completely free of all earthly things in this troublesome life, and who has loved the one good and merciful God. Blessed is he who has become a doer of good works and, like a fruitful field, brings f